Serbinski Accounting Firms

Okay thanks for that, Nelsona

Let me rephrase my question in hopes of getting a better response. I'm sure this is a common situation, but I can't find anything remotely helpful online: Would an escrow account held by a realtor in Canada meet the IRS definition of a "trust"? What about escrow payments made to the bank f...

I bought a house in Canada last year. Obviously, this involved giving some money to a lawyer to hold in trust for a while during the process, and the bank now collects/remits property taxes along with the monthly mortgage payments. I'm just getting to my US taxes now and want to be clear on the repo...

I am on the board of directors for a couple of Canadian charitable organizations. Just wondering if there is any FBAR obligation that goes with this? I am thinking no, because I am not listed as a signatory on any bank accounts. However, I do sit on a finance committee that makes decisions about whe...

Brilliant. Thanks!

Is anyone familiar with the Saskatchewan Pension Plan and its implications for US taxes? Is it a 3520 reportable account?
I presume it goes on FBAR.

Thanks. That is the conclusion I also reached!

It's a weird question by the way, because this account only holds mutual funds, so if it was to be listed twice, it would be the same funds, just slightly different details.

If a person holds mutual funds within a RESP, would these shares need to be listed separately as an account on FBAR?

This is assuming the person own at least 50% of the RESP and that an FBAR is considered to be a trust.

(Not asking about PFIC here. That's a separate issue.)

I'm also a bit confused about what exactly constitutes an excess distribution. I was under the impression that excess distributions meant the dollar value of distribution. For example, say in a fund: Average of distributions received from 2017-2019 was $50.00. I multiply this by 1.25 to get $62.50 I...

I'm working through this at the moment for a small mutual fund RESP (helping someone backfile a few years). The account is well below 25k, and it is the taxpayers only PFIC investment. However, it had monthly contributions/reinvested distributions, so I wanted to be sure there were no excess distrib...

Yeah, I get that: Rev Proc 2014-55: SECTION 5. INFORMATION REPORTING WITH RESPECT TO CANADIAN RETIREMENT PLANS .01 Reporting Rules for a Beneficiary or Annuitant of a Canadian Retirement Plan. Subject to any future guidance that may be issued by the Treasury Department and the IRS, beneficiaries (re...

Thank you. That is good to know!

Okay thanks Nelsona. I think I may have found some backing for your position in Rev Proc 2014-55: "For purposes of this revenue procedure, the term “Canadian retirement plan” means any trust, company, organization, or other arrangement that is within the scope of Article XVIII(7) of the Convent...

When an RPP is distributed as a lump sum, it can be rolled into an RRSP. This is a non-taxable event in Canada. However, what is the proper US treatment of this?

Is this a pension distribution for IRS purposes, or does the income continue to be deferred until it is withdrawn from the RRSP?